Steelers Could Make A Stunning Week 1 Gamble: "Just Sink Or Swim"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent most of August waiting for somebody to win the right tackle job. Matt Williamson is starting to wonder whether Pittsburgh should stop waiting and simply hand it to the most talented player in the competition. Max Iheanachor has yet to play a preseason snap, but Williamson believes the first-round rookie may already offer a better Week 1 bet than the alternatives.

That would require Pittsburgh to ignore the traditional checklist. Iheanachor missed the first two preseason contests after suffering an injury during training camp, returned to practice on Monday and is now expected to make his exhibition debut Thursday against the Buffalo Bills. He lost valuable padded work while Dylan Cook remained atop the depth chart and Broderick Jones received extensive snaps on both sides.

Normally, that sounds like a rookie who needs more time before anyone discusses starting him in September. Williamson sees the situation differently because the competition around Iheanachor has not exactly spent his absence putting the job in a headlock.

Cook entered camp as the veteran favorite after filling in effectively at left tackle late last season. Pittsburgh's initial depth chart still lists him first on the right side, with Iheanachor second. Jones has also received opportunities there while working his way back from neck surgery. The problem is that neither veteran option has made the decision particularly comfortable.

During a recent episode of SNR Drive, Williamson argued Pittsburgh's right tackle battle has evolved from choosing between appealing options to searching for the least concerning one.

“If they were fighting it out and you’re happy with either one to win it, now they’re fighting it out and you don’t want either one to win it because the way they’re playing… I would lean towards playing him Week 1 almost no matter what. And just sink or swim because you’re way more talented than everybody else and you might be really good,” Williamson said.

That is quite a leap for someone who has spent most of the preseason rehabbing rather than blocking NFL pass rushers. It also captures why Thursday night suddenly carries more intrigue than the average preseason finale.

Pittsburgh selected Iheanachor 21st overall because it believes he can eventually own the right tackle position. He began camp behind Cook, but quickly impressed once the pads came on, with his power and movement giving the coaching staff an early look at why he became a first-round selection. His injury interrupted that momentum before Pittsburgh could see whether those flashes would survive an actual opponent.

The Steelers now have one exhibition left to collect that evidence. Williamson believes a strong performance in Buffalo could change the race quickly, even after all the practice time Iheanachor missed.

“I would think he could quickly become the leader in the clubhouse for Week 1… I still think I would go a little over 50-50 that he’s your Week 1 starting tackle. Maybe 60-40 or so… If he starts Thursday night up in Buffalo, I think that would be a big tell,” Williamson said.

Starting the rookie Thursday would certainly qualify as something worth circling. Head Coach Mike McCarthy has spent camp rotating linemen and emphasizing combinations rather than treating early depth charts as sacred documents. Giving Iheanachor the opening series would provide his cleanest opportunity yet to work beside starters and show whether Pittsburgh considers the competition truly reopened.

The gamble comes from experience. Iheanachor did not begin playing football until late in high school and remains much newer to the position than the average first-round tackle. Missing multiple weeks in his first NFL camp only magnified the developmental concern. Starting him immediately would mean accepting rookie mistakes in exchange for a higher physical ceiling.

Williamson's argument is essentially that Pittsburgh may already be accepting mistakes from everyone else.

Jones played 54 snaps against the Jets and struggled badly on at least one sack while continuing his recovery from neck surgery. Cook has experience and gave Pittsburgh useful football in 2025, but he was always supposed to be the bridge while Iheanachor developed into the long-term answer. The bridge becomes less attractive if the player waiting on the other side looks ready enough to cross earlier than expected.

The rookie's interrupted August push originally appeared likely to push this decision deeper into the regular season. Missing reps is particularly costly for a blocker whose biggest concern entering the league was experience. Now, the uneven play around him may have reopened a door that looked closed two weeks ago.

Steelers May Have To Choose Upside Over Comfort

There is no safe answer here. Cook gives Pittsburgh more professional experience, while Jones has started plenty of NFL football despite his current struggles. Iheanachor offers the least proven option and perhaps the largest gap between what he could look like on his best and worst snaps.

Williamson would rather live with that volatility.

A first-round rookie losing an occasional rep while learning on the job is easier to stomach if the payoff could be a long-term starter. Settling for a veteran merely because he is less unknown becomes harder when that veteran is not providing noticeably cleaner football.

Buffalo can change the calculation. If Iheanachor looks overwhelmed after missing most of August, Pittsburgh can keep developing him without pretending draft status needs to dictate Week 1. If he handles the speed, protects cleanly and looks like the physically superior option Williamson believes he is, the depth chart may suddenly have a much more interesting problem.

The Steelers have spent weeks waiting for someone to take the right tackle job. Their best candidate might have been standing on the sideline the whole time.

#SteelerNation